Touch My Life
by Sassafrass86
Summary: A teenage girl comes into the ER and touches the life of Dave Malucci. Chap 5-Dave has a small chat with Carter which leaves Dave thinking about the choices he has.
1. Miracles Happen

Disclaimer: The only character in this story that belongs to me is Amanda. Dave/Erik is simply one of the objects of my affections and the star of a few of my many fantasies. I don't own ER either, but if I did, I'd give Dave a hell of a lot more screen time.  
  
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It was just another normal day. Well, as normal as a day could get in the ER. Dr. Dave Malucci was sitting on the couch in the lounge, trying to catch popcorn in his mouth, while Drs. Jing-Mei Chen and John Carter and Nurse Abby Lockhart looked on. Abby sighed.  
  
"It's slow in here today, isn't it?" she commented.  
  
"You're telling me," John replied, aimlessly.  
  
"Yeah, we must be bored if we're watching Dave catch popcorn in his mouth," Jing-Mei said.  
  
"Hey, it's more entertaining than watching Randi read her magazines," Dave retorted.  
  
John cocked his head in agreement. "He has a point."  
  
"I never thought I'd hear you say that," Abby joked.  
  
"I take offense to that," Dave said, pouting.  
  
"Good," Abby shot back.  
  
"I need all of you out here, we've got traumas coming in," the Chief of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Kerry Weaver, called to the four.  
  
"We're on break," Jing-Mei called.  
  
"I don't care, we've got a major MVA coming in and we need all the doctors we can get. Now get out here!" Kerry ordered.  
  
"We're coming, Chief, we're coming," Dave groaned, putting down his bowl of popcorn and slowly getting up.  
  
"Well come faster, we don't have all day!" Kerry yelled as she ran to the ambulance bay.  
  
The four staff members ran out of the lounge to follow her and were greeted with five ambulances in the bay.  
  
"Okay, Dave, Abby, and Carter, you've got this one, Jing-Mei and Haleh, get the next one, Mark and Lydia, the next, Susan and Chuny, the next, and Gallant, you're with me!" Kerry called out, rushing to the last ambulance with Michael Gallant at her feet. The doctors rushed their respected patients into the trauma rooms.  
  
Dave was looking at the heart monitor when he noticed a girl standing at the door of the trauma room.  
  
"Hey, Carter, you got this?" he asked, distractedly.  
  
"Yeah, I got it…why?" Carter replied.  
  
"I'm going to go see what's up with that girl," Dave told him.  
  
He left the room without waiting for a reply. The girl looked at him. She was breathing very heavily.  
  
"Hey, it's okay," Dave told her, trying to help her to calm down. "I'm Dr. Dave…what's your name?"  
  
"Amanda," the girl replied in between her breaths.  
  
"Okay, Amanda, you have some cuts on your face, how about we go and take a look at them?"  
  
She nodded and followed Dave to Exam 2. He sat her on a bed and began to examine her.  
  
"Do you have any allergies?" Dave asked, as her breathing came under control.  
  
"No, but I have asthma attacks sometimes," she told him.  
  
"Oh," Dave said, nodding. "Can you tell me what happened?"  
  
"We…we were driving," she started.  
  
"Who's we?" Dave asked.  
  
"My parents and me," she told him.  
  
Dave nodded.  
  
"We were driving and this huge truck was coming right toward us…Dad, he tried to turn to avoid hitting it, but we hit another car and the truck crashed into another and another," Amanda continued. "There was a huge pile- up."  
  
"How did you get out without getting seriously hurt?" Dave asked.  
  
She shrugged. "I guess it was a miracle."  
  
"Huh." It was all Dave could say.  
  
"What? You don't believe in miracles?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I…I don't know, I've never really thought about it," he replied.  
  
"I didn't either. I'm 15 years old, you know? Most kids my age don't think about that stuff, but…I don't know. My parents would always tell me that miracles happen. But I didn't think it was true…but all I needed was to believe that something amazing could happen."  
  
Dave smiled. "You've been watching A Beautiful Mind, haven't you?"  
  
She chuckled. "I have. But it's true, though. This is what I needed to believe."  
  
There was silence between the doctor and the patient for a moment.  
  
"Can you find out how my parents are?" she asked, suddenly.  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure I can. Uh, just stay here…don't move and I'll be right back," he told her, getting up. "Wait, what are your parents' names?"  
  
"Natalie and Vince Cole," she replied.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right back," he said again. He walked to the admit desk where Carter, Abby, Gallant, and Jing-Mei were standing.  
  
"Hey, did any of you have Natalie or Vince Cole?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, we had Natalie Cole," Carter said, quietly.  
  
"And Dr. Weaver and I had Mr. Cole," Gallant added, sounding a little depressed.  
  
"Are they okay?" Dave questioned.  
  
"Uh, Mrs. Cole passed away," Carter told him.  
  
"Yeah, so did Mr. Cole," Gallant said.  
  
Dave looked at the ground. "Damn," he whispered.  
  
"Why?" Jing-Mei asked.  
  
"Uh, the daughter…" Dave said, not needing to elaborate.  
  
The doctors and nurse stood in silence for a few minutes.  
  
"Uh, I should get back to her," Dave said. His co-workers nodded and he walked back to Exam 2.  
  
"What's the matter?" Amanda asked, when she saw Dave's grim face. A look of realization spread across her face.  
  
"Amanda, I'm sorry, but…" Dave started.  
  
"Oh, God," she whispered. "No, they can't be dead."  
  
"Amanda, their injuries were very severe and…"  
  
"No!" she yelled, cutting him off. She stood up and rushed out of the room.  
  
"Amanda…" Dave called to her. He got up and followed her.  
  
She was running from room to room, looking for her parents.  
  
"Mom! Dad!" she called. She reached Trauma 2 and stopped, recognizing it as the room she had been standing in front of before. She paused before pushing the door open.  
  
"Mom?" she whispered, slowly walking to the woman on the gurney. She was covered with a blanket. "Mom?" she whispered again.  
  
She pulled down the sheet and saw her mother's pale face. Dave stood outside, watching as his patient looked at her dead mother.  
  
"Oh, mom," Amanda whispered.  
  
She began to sob quietly. She stroked her mother's hair and gripped her hand before letting go for the last time. She put the sheet back over her mother's face before moving to Trauma 3, where she thought her father would be. Nobody was in there, for the patient had survived and had been sent to the OR. She moved to the next room. There, her father lay on another gurney, covered with a white sheet, just like her mother. Amanda pulled the sheet off her father's face as well. She began to sob again when she saw her father's face. She bent down and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before standing up and putting the sheet back on his face again. She walked out of the Trauma room and saw Dave standing there.  
  
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.  
  
"I think so," she whispered. "I know they're in a better place."  
  
Dave nodded. He put an arm around her and led her back to Exam 2 again.  
  
Dave looked at Amanda's tear-stained face and felt horrible. He felt something for her…it wasn't guilt or pity, but something more…something deeper…he didn't know what it was quite yet, but he knew the feeling was there.  
  
"Amanda, do you have any relatives to call? Someone you can stay with?" he asked her.  
  
She shook her head. "Mom and dad didn't have any brothers or sisters," she said.  
  
"So you have nowhere to stay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she confirmed.  
  
He thought this over for a moment. "Do you want to stay with me for a little while?"  
  
She looked up at him in surprise. "Wouldn't you get busted?"  
  
He shrugged. "I'll work something out."  
  
She stared at him with a look of admiration mixed with confusion. "I…I'd appreciate that very much."  
  
He nodded and smiled. "Listen, my shift doesn't end for a few hours…do you want me to take you to my apartment?"  
  
She shook her head. "I'd rather stay here, if that's okay with you?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, that'd be okay, too…I'll go get you some scrubs and you can change."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
She nodded again. "Just a little."  
  
"Okay, I'll give you some money and you can get something to eat."  
  
She gave him grateful smile. He stood up, ruffled her hair and left to get the scrubs and money. He took a deep breath when he reached the closet. What the hell had he gotten himself into? 


	2. A New Friendship

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Dave…so? I mean, haha, it's not like that makes me a loser…oh, goodness…I'm a loser!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I own Amanda, so that's cool.  
  
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"Malucci, this is unacceptable," Kerry lectured as she and Dave walked down the hall.  
  
"But, Chief, she's got nowhere else to go! Her parents died in the trauma rooms and she doesn't have any other relatives!" he argued.  
  
"Then call Family Services," she replied.  
  
"Chief, please…I already told her she could stay at my place. She's already lost her parents, don't let her lose this," Dave begged.  
  
Kerry stopped in her tracks for her moment. She turned to Dave and looked into his eyes. Her face softened. "Okay, Dave."  
  
Dave's expression turned to shock. "What?"  
  
"I said okay. You can take care of her for awhile until she finds a permanent home. Just…don't tell Romano about this," Kerry said, quietly, before rushing away.  
  
Dave looked after her in awe. "Huh, the Chief does have a soft spot for me," he said to himself.  
  
"What, Dave, you're so lonely you talk to yourself now?" Jing-Mei retorted as she walked by.  
  
He chuckled and caught up to her. "No, I was just telling myself that the Chief must have a soft spot for me," he told her.  
  
"Why would you think that?" she asked, doubtful.  
  
"Because, she just gave me permission to let Amanda, you know that girl who lost her parents in that MVA, stay with me until she finds a more permanent home."  
  
Jing-Mei looked at him strangely. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"  
  
Dave threw his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Is it so hard to believe that I'd make a good guardian?"  
  
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Jing-Mei joked.  
  
"I…but…I can…" Dave sputtered.  
  
"Dave, relax, I was just kidding. No, it's not hard to believe that you'd make a good guardian, it's just…how do I say this? It's not something somebody would picture. I mean, you're like, the class clown. We don't see you as the mature guy," she told him.  
  
"Hey, I can be mature, you know? Especially with this girl, I mean…I know how it feels to lose parents."  
  
"What? How do you know?"  
  
"Uh, this is not really the right place to talk about it. Remind me to tell you about it later."  
  
Jing-Mei narrowed her eyes. "Okay…well, anyway, my patient's in here, so I'll see you later. Good luck with Amanda."  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Dave called as she walked into the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hello, Eddy, so what seems to be the problem this time?" Jing-Mei asked, looking at the chart.  
  
Eddy Atkins was a "kid" in his early twenties. He was homeless and was often wandering around the streets of Cook County. He had been in this ER several times before and each time he had come in, he had asked for Jing- Mei to be his doctor. He groaned and scratched his balls.  
  
"I think it's crabs," he told her, warily.  
  
Jing-Mei looked up. "What makes you say that?" she asked, not really wanting to know.  
  
"My jewels really itch," he replied, still scratching.  
  
She gave him a forced smile. "Hmm. This should be interesting," she muttered to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good news, Amanda, I worked it out with my boss and you are officially my house mate," Dave said to the teen.  
  
Her eyes lit up. "Are you serious? That is so rad! Oh my, gosh, this is going to rock!" she exclaimed.  
  
Dave laughed. "It'll certainly be interesting, won't it?"  
  
"You bet! Hey, you're cool with parties, right?" she asked.  
  
Dave raised an eyebrow. "That depends," he said.  
  
"On what?"  
  
"Oh, you know, the typical thing: behavior, studies…I think you know what I mean," he replied.  
  
She nodded. "That's fair…so when will I start school?"  
  
Dave pondered this for a moment. "Well, it's Thursday today…you need a few days to get settled…well, we'll try to get you in by next week, okay?"  
  
"Alright, that sounds good. You know what, Dr. Malucci? I think this just might work out."  
  
"Hey, -you- can call me Dave… and I think you're right."  
  
She looked at him for a moment. Then, she stood up, walked over to him and gave him a big hug. He was shocked at first, but quickly recovered and hugged her back.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, Eddy, I think you'll be fine now. If you have any more problems, then be sure to come back," Jing-Mei said, walking with Eddy through the hall.  
  
"Yo, thanks, doc," he replied.  
  
"No problem," she replied with a smile. She stopped and looked through a window.  
  
She saw Dave hugging his newfound friend, Amanda. She didn't know why, but for some reason she felt shocked to see the scene. She had never imagined…  
  
"Doc, is somethin' wrong?" Eddy asked, noticing that Jing-Mei wasn't moving.  
  
She shook out of her trance and looked at him. "No, nothing's wrong, Eddy. Uh, let's go on." 


	3. Road Rage

Disclaimer: I don't own Dave, I don't own Dave, I don't own Dave, I don't own Dave…get the point?  
  
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"What do you think?" Dave asked, opening the door to his apartment.  
  
Amanda walked in, carrying a bag of groceries. She put them on the ground and turned around, looking the apartment over. She nodded.  
  
"I like it," she commented.  
  
Dave chuckled. "Well, thanks, because I'm not changing it."  
  
Amanda rolled her eyes and went from door to door, sticking her head inside the rooms to inspect them. There were 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms. This also may perhaps be the reason why Dave couldn't afford a car, which is why he had asked Carter to drive them home.  
  
"Okay, that first room is mine. You can choose your room," Dave told her.  
  
"Cool," she replied.  
  
Dave leaned down and managed to pick up the bag Amanda had dropped on the floor. He carried that and three others into the kitchen. He began unpacking things and putting them away.  
  
"Hey, Dave," Amanda called.  
  
Dave looked up from what he was doing and walked into the living room.  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, no, I just wanted to tell you that I think this room is the one I want," she replied, from another room.  
  
Dave walked toward her voice and found her in the third bedroom.  
  
"That's okay, right?"  
  
"Yeah, of course," he said, "but we're going to have decorate the way you want, aren't we?"  
  
"Are you serious?" she asked, excitedly.  
  
"Sure," he replied, surprised at the tone of her voice. "Why?"  
  
"Well, mom and dad didn't like me to do anything to my room…it's been plain old white for as long as I can remember," she told him, sadly.  
  
Dave bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Yeah, well, I know how you feel."  
  
This got Amanda's attention. She looked at him closely. "What do you mean?"  
  
He quickly looked up. "Oh, nothing, I'm just babbling."  
  
"You know," she started, "you're not a very good liar."  
  
He laughed. "And you are?"  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "I could be," she said, slyly.  
  
They laughed together.  
  
"Well, I'm going to have to watch out for that," he told her, thankful for the change of subject.  
  
"Can I go with you to the hospital tomorrow?" she asked suddenly.  
  
He raised his eyebrows. "Uh, sure…hey, maybe I should just have you work there."  
  
Her eyes lit up. "Could you do that?"  
  
He looked at her, confused. "I was being sarcastic."  
  
"I know, but do you think you could get me a job?"  
  
"I…I don't know, maybe if I talked to the chief…I mean, you [i]are[/i] only 15…it would be pretty hard, you know, because…" Dave said, starting to mutter to himself.  
  
"Uh, Dave? You can stop talking to yourself now," she teased.  
  
He shook himself out of his trance. "Sorry," he replied, "I tend to do that when I think really hard."  
  
"Oh…well, I think it wouldn't be too hard to get me a job. Dad was a doctor and I had a part-time job at the hospital he worked at."  
  
"Your dad was a doctor?" he asked, interested.  
  
"Yeah. Mom was a teacher," she replied.  
  
"Huh," he grunted to himself.  
  
"Anyway, you'll talk to your boss about it, right?"  
  
"Yeah…yeah, don't worry I will."  
  
"Okay, cool. You know, Dave, I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep."  
  
"Oh, yeah, of course…uh, you can sleep in my bed tonight since we haven't gotten sheets on this one yet."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll sleep on the couch."  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked, sounding a little doubtful.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine."  
  
"Okay…well, goodnight," she said, beginning to walk out.  
  
"Yeah, goodnight, Amanda," he replied, stretching. He turned to see her in the doorway looking at him. She bit her lip and suddenly stood on her toes, pulled him into a hug, and kissed his cheek.  
  
"Thank you, Dave," she whispered. She let go of him and walked to Dave's room while he stood rooted to his spot in shock. When he recovered, he walked out of the room and into the kitchen.  
  
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a Pepsi. He opened it and carried it into the living room. He sat on the couch, reached for the remote, and turned on the TV.  
  
"Oh no," he groaned to himself when he saw that it was a soap opera. He switched to Showtime and smiled when he realized it was [i]Raging Bull[/i], which starred his favorite actor, Robert De Niro. He watched, while drinking his Pepsi, before drifting off to sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Next Morning…  
  
  
  
It was 3:30 A.M. and Amanda was sleeping peacefully with a joyous dream in her head.  
  
*BRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG*  
  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed, being awakened from her slumber by the alarm clock on the table next to Dave's bed.  
  
Dave burst into the room, his hair rumpled and his clothes wrinkled from sleeping on the couch. "What happened?" he asked, dazed.  
  
"The alarm clock woke me up," she told him, running a hand through her hair.  
  
Dave groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Well, thank you for screaming or I wouldn't have woken up."  
  
"Why do you need to wake up at 3:30 in the morning for?" she asked, incredulously.  
  
"My shift starts at 4:30," he told her.  
  
She shook her head in amazement.  
  
"Do you still want to go with me?" he teased.  
  
"I think I'll pass. What time do you get off?"  
  
"I'm covering for Dr. Carter, so I got 24 hours today," he said, cursing to himself for taking on Carter's shift.  
  
"Wow," she said.  
  
"Shouldn't you be used to this? I mean, since your dad was a doctor."  
  
"Well, yeah, but his alarm clock didn't go off right next to my ear," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, well, we'll get the sheets on your other bed today…well, tomorrow, I guess."  
  
"It's okay if I come in later, right?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure, that'll be fine. And I'll talk to my boss about that job."  
  
"Thanks," she replied. She flopped her head back onto the pillow and fell back to sleep quickly.  
  
Dave chuckled and walked into the bathroom in the hall. He brushed his teeth and took a quick shower before putting on his clothes. He was about to walk out the door when he realized that if Amanda was going to come into the ER that day, she would need a way to get there. He walked over to the table with his phone on it and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from the drawer. He wrote:  
  
  
  
  
  
[i]Amanda,  
  
I'm leaving some money on the table so you can get a taxi to come to Cook County. There's some restaurants around the neighborhood, so you can get something to eat before you come if you want to. Have a good day and I'll see you soon.  
  
Dave[/i]  
  
  
  
He took out $30 from his pocket and put it on the table, under the note. He looked around, satisfied that he wasn't forgetting anything and quickly walked out the door, locking it behind him. He walked down the stairs and ran out the door, shivering at the cold. He walked to the bike rack and unlocked the lock. He climbed on and began riding to County. Suddenly, he heard the screeching of car brakes and he stopped his bike. He turned just in time to see a car hit another car, which had been backing out of its parking spot. Dave's eyes widened as he saw another car hit.  
  
"Oh, shit. This is not going to be a good day," he said to himself before getting off his bike and running to the nearest pay phone. 


	4. Just Lunch

Disclaimer: You know what? We're all the same. We all want to own at least one person we can't have. Which stinks. It totally reeks. And I'm a screeching sloth. Wait…what was I saying?  
  
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"Jing-Mei, have you seen Dave?" Kerry asked the young doctor.  
  
Jing-Mei turned to her and closed her eyes, racking her brain. "Uh, no, I don't think he came in yet. Why?"  
  
"His shift started 5 minutes ago and we need him. We've got an MVA coming in," she told her.  
  
"Oh, great, another one," she muttered to herself.  
  
"What?" Kerry snapped.  
  
"Nothing," Jing-Mei replied, innocently.  
  
"Come on then, let's get moving," she ordered, limping to the ambulance bay.  
  
  
  
The ambulances came rolling in and when Kerry opened the doors of the first one, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was inside of it.  
  
"Hey, Chief," Dave said, trying not to laugh at the look of shock etched on his boss's face.  
  
"Dave? What are you doing?" she asked, obviously confused.  
  
"I'll fill you in about that later. We got a thirty-eight year old white male here; he was hit while backing out of his parking space. He has head trauma, a broken leg, fractured arm, and probably a few broken ribs," Dave informed her as he climbed out of the ambulance and assisted in rolling him to a trauma room.  
  
  
  
"Okay, we need to order a cat scan and call the OR and get them to send a surgeon down here for a consult," Kerry called out to whoever was listening.  
  
"You got it," Chuny replied, running to the phone.  
  
"Chief, we're going into V-fib!" Dave yelled.  
  
"Okay, get me the paddles and charge to 100," Kerry said.  
  
Lydia handed her the paddles.  
  
"Okay, one-two-three…clear!" she yelled, shocking the man before her.  
  
"No change," Dave said.  
  
"Charge to 150…one-two-three…clear!" she called.  
  
"We're still in V-fib," Dave told her.  
  
"Again! Charge to 200…one-two-three…"  
  
  
  
  
  
"We need a central line here!" Jing-Mei called.  
  
"I'm already on it," Dr. Luka Kovac told her. "Scoot over."  
  
Jing-Mei moved to the side and looked on as Luka inserted the tube.  
  
"I need some cricoid pressure!" he called.  
  
"Are you okay, Dr. Kovac?" Jing-Mei asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, just a little tired," Luka told her, concentrating on putting in the line. "Okay, I got it."  
  
Jing-Mei nodded. "Call the OR," she told Haleh.  
  
  
  
"Charge it again!" Kerry called.  
  
"Dr. Weaver…I don't think…" Dave started.  
  
Kerry looked up at him. She sighed and turned to Lydia. "How long has he been down?"  
  
"Twenty minutes," she told Weaver.  
  
Suddenly, the heart monitor made that dreaded on-going sound.  
  
"Asystole," Chuny said, quietly.  
  
"Call it," Kerry said, dropping the paddles.  
  
Dave sighed in defeat and looked at the clock. "Time of death: 4:55."  
  
Kerry took off her gloves and walked out of the room and Dave followed suit. Kerry walked into another direction while Dave fell into stride with Dr. Chen.  
  
"What a way to start the morning," Dave half-joked.  
  
She smiled at him. "You lost him, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," he sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said.  
  
"So am I," he replied.  
  
"Uh, so how's Amanda doing?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, it's doing fine so far. She was a little pissed about my alarm clock going off right next to her ear, but hey, it's just one minor mishap."  
  
Jing-Mei laughed. "Yeah, well I wouldn't care for that either."  
  
"Yeah," Dave croaked.  
  
"You look really tired," she commented.  
  
He looked at her. "Nah, I'm cool."  
  
"No you're not," she teased.  
  
He softly punched her arm and she returned the gesture.  
  
"What time are you off?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm off at 4:00," she said.  
  
"Lucky," he told her.  
  
"Why? What time are you off?"  
  
"I'm covering for Carter, so I've got a 24-hour shift today," he groaned.  
  
Jing-Mei winced. "Ouch," she said.  
  
"Tell me about it," he replied.  
  
"Well, this is my stop," Jing-Mei said, gesturing to a room.  
  
"Okay, well, I guess I should go find a patient before the Chief yells at me."  
  
Jing-Mei chuckled. "I think Weaver yelling at you is inevitable either way, Dave."  
  
"That's a good point."  
  
"Hey, do you want to maybe…I don't know, get some lunch later?" she asked, cautiously.  
  
"You mean a lunch date?" he asked, slyly.  
  
"No," she exclaimed, "just lunch."  
  
"Sure, that sounds great."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later then," she said.  
  
"Yeah, cool," he said, walking off, leaving Jing-Mei to watch him.  
  
  
  
  
  
~Tell me that I'm not falling for Dave Malucci~ she thought to herself. 


	5. Horrible Liar

Disclaimer: Yo, you don't own me! I don't own nobody neitha. You know what I'm sayin? Yeah, whatevah, dude. Sorry, I was watching The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.  
  
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"Hey, Dave, ready to go?" Jing-Mei asked her fellow co-worker.  
  
Dave looked up from his chart and looked at his watch. "Uh, yeah, just let me discharge this patient," he said, walking to the admit desk.  
  
She nodded. "I'll wait for you outside," she called.  
  
  
  
Dave stopped at the desk and wrote something on the chart while Randi looked at him with interest. He tried to ignore, but he finally put his pen down and looked at her.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"So…you and Dr. Chen, huh? I thought she hated you," Randi said.  
  
Dave rolled his eyes. "We're only having lunch. It's not a date or anything."  
  
"Yeah, sure," Randi teased.  
  
"Randi…" Dave started.  
  
"Dave, come on…you have a big enough ego to admit that a sane woman wouldn't want to go out with you," she interrupted.  
  
Dave raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Randi replied, smirking.  
  
"Okay, well, I'll talk to you about that later. Right now, I have to go meet Jing-Mei for lunch," he said, leaving Randi to roll her eyes and get back to reading her magazine.  
  
  
  
"Hey," Dave said, suddenly, making Jing-Mei jump.  
  
"Oh my God, Dave, you scared me!" she cried, smacking his arm.  
  
Dave laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. So, are we going to Doc Magoo's?"  
  
"Is there anywhere else to go?"  
  
"I guess not," Dave admitted.  
  
They walked across the street, shivering, and entered the small, but warm, restaurant. They walked over to a booth and waited for the waitress.  
  
"Hey, guys," a young woman said to them as she bounced up to their table.  
  
"Hi, Stacey," Dave said to the familiar face.  
  
"What are you guys having today?"  
  
The two doctors made their orders and turned to each other when they were down. Dave smiled at her and she returned one. There was an awkward silence between them as they each tried to decide what to say.  
  
"So…"  
  
"Dave, I…"  
  
They both laughed. "You go first," Dave said.  
  
"No, that's okay. You go first," Jing-Mei replied.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to know what your plans were for tonight. Do you have any hot dates?" he teased.  
  
Jing-Mei chuckled. "Yeah, that's it. I have lines of men just waiting to ask me out on dates."  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if there were," Dave told her.  
  
Jing-Mei looked at him in surprise. She didn't have a chance to reply because Stacey had come back to the table with their orders. Dave and Jing- Mei both gave her a word of thanks and began to eat their meals.  
  
"Why did you want to know what I was doing tonight anyway?" she asked.  
  
"I wanted to invite you over to my apartment for dinner," Dave replied.  
  
Again, Jing-Mei looked at him in surprise. Dave looked back at her and saw the look on her face.  
  
"You don't have to if you don't want to," he said, shrugging. "It was just a suggestion."  
  
"No, I…I'm just a little surprised, that's all. How about we wait and see how lunch goes first, huh?" she replied.  
  
"It's your choice," Dave said, simply. "Hey, what were you going to say to me before?"  
  
Jing-Mei narrowed her eyes, trying to remember what she had wanted to say.  
  
"Oh! Do you remember when you told me yesterday that you knew how it felt to lose parents?"  
  
Dave closed his eyes for a moment, but then opened them again. He took a deep breath. "Yeah…and?"  
  
"Well, you said you'd tell me what you meant later and…uh, it's later."  
  
Dave bit his lip so hard Jing-Mei was afraid that he was going to bite right through it. He looked at his watch. "Uh, the lunch break is over. I think we should get back," he said, quickly.  
  
Jing-Mei looked at him, confused. "But we didn't even finish our lunch."  
  
"That's okay, I'll get the bill," he replied, standing up. He walked toward the cashier and Jing-Mei watched him pay the check. He came back to the table and picked up his coat. Jing-Mei stood up as well, putting on her coat. They walked out of the diner and made their way back to the ER. As they were walking, Jing-Mei thought about what could be so horrible that Dave didn't wanted to talk to her about it.  
  
"Hey, Dave?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Is that dinner offer still open?"  
  
Dave looked at her, a trace of a smile on his face. "Of course it is."  
  
"So you wouldn't mind if I…came over to your house tonight, right?"  
  
"That'd be great," he replied.  
  
Jing-Mei smiled. They approached their workplace and walked inside.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When Amanda heard the doors open, she looked toward the entrance.  
  
"Dave!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "I'll be right back, Randi."  
  
She ran to Dave, who was with Jing-Mei, and gave him a hug.  
  
He laughed as he hugged her back. "What was that for?"  
  
"I don't know…it was boring without you around," she explained.  
  
Dave gave her a lopsided smile. Amanda looked at Jing-Mei.  
  
"Hi," she offered.  
  
Jing-Mei raised her eyebrows. "Hi, Amanda, Dave's told me a lot about you."  
  
Amanda raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Uh, Amanda, this is Dr. Jing-Mei Chen," Dave told her, filling her curiosity. "She's coming over for dinner tonight."  
  
Amanda nodded, making a mental reminder to ask Dave about the dinner date later, and turned her attention back to him. "Did you talk to your boss about that job yet?"  
  
Dave smacked his forehead. "Damn, I forgot. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay," Amanda replied, feeling a little disappointed.  
  
"Hey, when I see her, I'll ask her about it, okay?"  
  
"I can't argue with that."  
  
  
  
"Dave, I could use your help in here!" Abby yelled, sticking her head out of one of the exam rooms.  
  
"I'll be right back," Dave told Jing-Mei and Amanda and ran to the room Abby was in. "What's going on?"  
  
He stopped at the site before and him and raised his eyebrows. All around the room were flocks and flocks of pigeons while a seemingly homeless man stood in the middle of the room.  
  
"I asked the guy to take his coat off and all these birds came flying out."  
  
Dave stifled a laugh. "Sir, are you okay?" he asked the man.  
  
"Of course I am, these little guys are my best friends," the man replied, happily.  
  
"Well, Abby, it doesn't look like anybody's in immediate danger…I'm going to go now," Dave told Abby as he walked toward the door.  
  
"Dave, wait, what am I supposed to…do," she called to him, but he already walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Dave saw that Amanda was back to talking with Randi because Jing-Mei had gone to take care of a patient. He started to go in the direction of the admit desk…  
  
"Malucci, I need you for a trauma!" Kerry called to him, making her way to the ambulance bay.  
  
"Oh no," he groaned. He was usually happy to be working on traumas, but he had seen more than enough that day. He followed his boss to the bay and waited for the ambulances to come.  
  
"What is it, Chief?" he asked.  
  
"A GSW to the abdomen," she replied.  
  
"Only one guy?"  
  
"Yep, the other one was taken to Mercy."  
  
  
  
The ambulance pulled up at that moment and the paramedics unloaded the patient.  
  
"What's up?" Dave questioned.  
  
"Forty-six year old white male, gun shot wound to the abdomen and possible head trauma," one of the paramedics told him.  
  
He nodded and helped Kerry push the man into Trauma 1.  
  
  
  
"Dr. Weaver, he's seizing!" Dave exclaimed.  
  
"Okay, get a central line going, Dave," she told him, while she gave orders to Chuny.  
  
Dave nodded. He took the necessary supplies needed from Haleh and tried to insert the line. Suddenly, the man woke up and began to thrash his arms in every which direction. He shot his arm straight up and caught Dave's left eye.  
  
"Crap!" Dave yelled, instinctively jumping away and putting his hand over his eye.  
  
"Dave, are you all right?" Dr. Weaver asked, concerned.  
  
Dave poked at his eye and looked at her. He nodded. "I'm fine…can we please get this guy 5 of Haldol?"  
  
Haleh grabbed a syringe, put in the Haldol, and injected the man with it. His thrashing slowly stopped until he was pretty much motionless.  
  
"Okay, let's try that central line again, shall we?" Dave said, walking back to the table. He inserted the line without a hitch this time, and nodded to Dr. Weaver.  
  
"Alright, we need to send him up to the OR right away. Dave, get that eye checked out and I'll go up with him," Kerry ordered, not waiting for a reply from the young resident. She and Haleh rolled the gurney out of the room and went to the elevators.  
  
Dave sighed and walked out as well.  
  
  
  
"Oh my God, Dave, what happened to your eye?" Randi asked, her eyes becoming wide when she saw him. Amanda turned to look at him and her face formed into the same expression as Randi's.  
  
"Patient got a little violent," he replied.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine," he assured. "It's nothing to worry about."  
  
"Are you sure?" Amanda asked, sounding doubtful.  
  
"I'm positive. I'm just going to go the restroom and check this out. I'll be back," he said, excusing himself. He walked to the men's room and walked to the sinks. He looked into the mirror and saw that his eye had very much swelled. He shook his head at his reflection, as if he was disappointed with himself.  
  
"Get over it, Dave. You've had worse," he told the reflection.  
  
"What would worse be?" a voice asked.  
  
Dave turned immediately, startled at the sudden sound of another person.  
  
"Carter," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I didn't hear you come in."  
  
"Sorry I freaked you out," Carter apologized.  
  
"It's okay," Dave replied.  
  
There was an awkward silence between the men for a moment.  
  
"So, uh, you didn't answer my question."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What's worse? Wait…what happened to your eye, anyway?"  
  
"One of the patients started throwing punches. I can't really blame him, though. I'd want to throw punches too, if someone shot me."  
  
"I'm sure you would. Are you okay?"  
  
"You know, I'm getting a little tired of that question," Dave joked. "But yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"You still haven't answered my original question. What's worse?"  
  
"Oh, uh…worse is…get…getting hit with, uh…a hockey puck in the crotch?" he half asked, half said.  
  
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a horrible liar?" Carter asked.  
  
"I've been told that, yeah," Dave replied with a small smile.  
  
"Well, if you ever want to tell me the truth about it, you can always come and talk to me."  
  
Dave raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think I'm telling you a lie in the first place?"  
  
"I can just tell. After telling so many lies myself, it's hard not to notice when other people tell them," Carter told him.  
  
Dave bit his lip and averted his eye from Carter. Another awkward silence filled the air.  
  
"Uh…Dave?" Carter asked, breaking the ice.  
  
"Yeah?" Dave replied, looking back up at him.  
  
"If you'll excuse me now, I've got to take a piss."  
  
"Oh! Yeah, okay, sorry," he said, making his way to the door.  
  
"Dave?"  
  
"Yeah, Carter?"  
  
"You should ice that eye."  
  
"That's probably a good idea….thanks."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
  
  
Dave walked out of the men's room, pondering Carter's words. Should he gather up his guts and spill his tragic story? Or should he keep it quiet and go on masquerading as the staff clown? 


End file.
